Hey! What happened to ABC?

[Widewader]

This past Friday, I switched from Dish to Direct after the HD networks were discontinued. After fooling around with the new system for a couple of days, it dawned on me that we aren't getting ABC-TV broadcasts, HD or SD. Now, we're worse off than before. At least I was getting SD through All American. Now, the network programs we tended to watch the most are unavailable. We are getting NBC, CBS and FOX in HD through a small-market town nearby. Do I have any alternatives? Is there any way to get ABC short of canceling the whole deal with Direct? Seems like I read that Direct is working on some kind of additional arrangement for our Zip code. I haven't called them yet. Thought I'd wait until Monday morning in hopes of getting someone who might be a little more knowledgable.

 

[charper1]

It would help us out if you posted your service zip code or market area?

 

[Widewader]

Oh, yeah. Sorry. My Zip code is 38326. I live on Pickwick Lake on the border of Tennessee/Alabama/Mississippi. Our network HD broadcasts are from New York by way of Jackson, Tennessee.

 

[charper1]

LOL I know exactly where you are. Are you near Counce or Winn Springs? My ex's mom lives out there.

 

[charper1]

That is setup as the Jackson, TN DMA and there is no ABC service signed as I remember. You could "move" your service zip to Memphis and get everything in SD and HD. You would need a compatible dish however.

 

[Mr Tony]

Your market is not on D* yet. Looking at wiki there is a PBS, FOX & ABC in the market. CBS & NBC come from Memphis or Nashville. In some markets (this being one) since the locals arent up yet in HD but are coming D* will be providing Distant Networks where: 1) there is no local station or 2) where there is a local station available, but based on waivers granted by the local broadcasters Distant Networks can be provided temporarily.

There is no CBS or NBC in the market so part 1 qualifies
Fox #2 does but ABC said "NO" so that is why you can't get ABC right now

you can try a waiver with D* and see if you can get one

thread from last summer in regards ot it
http://www.satelliteguys.us/directv...giving-distants-some-markets-temporarily.html

 

[Mr Tony]

running an address nearby says you can try and get a waiver for ABC. Its not like the others which are automatically given. I would go to this site
Enter Address

and put in your address and you might be able to get NY ABC

 

[Mr Tony]

You would need a compatible dish however.

If he wanted to move he'd be all set as these "temp distant markets" are MPEG4 from the get-go

 

[charper1]

good point

 

[Mr Tony]

honestly I'd first try the link in post 7 and see if he can get a waiver.

 

[Widewader]

Thanks, Iceberg. I went to the link and made the application. I haven't seen a response yet. Any idea how long it should take? The page says it can take up to 15 minutes for status information to update from your last request. Not sure what that means.

 

[Mr Tony]

Usually what happens is D* will submit the request to the station for approval. As for the time frame that I do not know. My market has all the locals (Minneapolis)

 

[charper1]

I have seen it take 7 - 10 business days and just to be prepared, go in thinking you will not get the waiver. That way if you don't you aren't that upset but if you do its gravy.

 

[Widewader]

Thanks a LOT, Iceberg!!!! I followed your suggestion and filled out the application at the online site. It worked. We now have ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX in the "nearby" location on the guide. To make things easier to deal with, I put the new channels (390, 392, 396 & 398) on QuickTune. This QuickTune thing is really cool and a welcomed variation on the need for an additional list. I came from Dish and they did have a couple of things I liked better than Direct: four lists for favorites and a jump forward and backward feature that was instantaneous rather than a high speed scroll. However, I am stunned by the many, many different features provided by Direct. Really cool! Thanks again for your help.

 

[larry55]

welcome to the dark side.

 

[Mr Tony]

cool. glad it got approved. I thought the other nets that you automatically got (CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS) should be mapped in the 60's (like 61,62,64,65 or something like that)

The PBS is the national feed (379) so it may have different programs than the local PBS

 

[stonecold]

cool. glad it got approved. I thought the other nets that you automatically got (CBS, FOX, NBC, PBS) should be mapped in the 60's (like 61,62,64,65 or something like that)

The PBS is the national feed (379) so it may have different programs than the local PBS

There only auto maped in the areas where we have a mass waiver in effect and customer are getting getting temporary dns while we get there actual locals live.

 

[Ronnie-]

I came from Dish and they did have a couple of things I liked better than Direct: four lists for favorites and a jump forward and backward feature that was instantaneous rather than a high speed scroll..

Directv also offers a skip function in addition to the "slip" function that is currently enabled.
To activate it do the following:
Go to Menu > Search for Shows > Keyword
Enter in “30SKIP” in the search area and hit “Continue”
That’s it. Now go to a recording, and hit play and try the old SLIP button out.
If you want to go back, do the same thing as above but put “30SLIP” instead.

 

[bacchus101]

Thanks a LOT, Iceberg!!!! I followed your suggestion and filled out the application at the online site. It worked. We now have ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX in the "nearby" location on the guide.

I'm still waiting on a waiver. Like you I just came over from Dish. I was actually told by 4 different CSRs across 4 seperate calls that I would be able to get FOX via DNS from New York. Once my system was installed some new variable popped up which stated that in order to get that FOX I had to have had an account before October 31st (and sadly, I didn't bring my time machine.) I get the impression that CSRs at D* are not very familiar with DNS (as that is where every issue I have had stems from at this point.)

I'll have to wait and see what happens with the waiver (fingers crossed) or I guess I'll have to head off with my equipment to my "winter home."

I came from Dish and they did have a couple of things I liked better than Direct: four lists for favorites and a jump forward and backward feature that was instantaneous rather than a high speed scroll. However, I am stunned by the many, many different features provided by Direct.

It has been a learning curve for me and there are some quirks (there seem to be many more duplicate recordings, setting up favorites is a pain, banners are annoying) but well worth it considering the feature set which I find vastly superior to my E* setup.

I love quick tune. I'm learning how to take advantage of doubleplay. Whole home DVR makes life easier (although I wish there was a unified to do list.)

Overall I'm quite happy with my switch (minus my big 4 network issues) and Iceberg IS really helpful.

 

[Mr Tony]

There only auto maped in the areas where we have a mass waiver in effect and customer are getting getting temporary dns while we get there actual locals live.

in the OP's case other than ABC the rest are "mass approved". See the attachment I posted in post 7. Its an address in his market from the DNS page